Blackmagic Forum

BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:32 pm

by Denny Smith

I think you are better off with the Zoom, also consider the Panny/Leica 12-60 Zoom, gives you more reach, and this Zoom is parfocal and has very quiet focus/iris motors. It a,so has OS to help steady long shots.Cheers

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 9:23 pm

by Alex Delfont

Hi

If you are taking mainly holiday and travel videos mostly for the memories there may be more suitable cameras out there? Like the Panasonic micro four thirds cameras? Have you considered them?

They have a lot of features that are helpful for those situations, the G85 for instance, IBIS, weatherproof, articulated screen, time-lapse features etc.

But if you are set on the Blackmagic look, then consider a zoom maybe. I got by with the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 for a long time on its own. It is easily wide enough for any landscape, and you can get a bit closer to subjects on the long end and get reasonably shallow depth of field. It also has OIS so if you are doing handheld stuff it will help a lot. If you plan to just use the BMPCC4k with a non stabilised lens and handheld, its going to be shaky.

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:43 pm

by rick.lang

Look around this section the forum as this same question has been discussed or the other threads will have relevant information. Handheld without stabilization pretty much means you should be shooting with a fairly wide angle such as the zooms starting at 12mm. Be wary of anything that has a long zoom range if you expect it to give you good results handheld. Fine when you’re on a tripod.

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Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:31 pm

by rick.lang

Looking forward to your findings.

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Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 5:48 pm

by Denny Smith

The only 30mm MFT lens I know of, is the Sigma Art. If going with Primes, you want them to match, so get 12, 25 and 75 Oly lens set, or the 15, 25, and 42.5 Panny/Leica set, which has excellent IQ. The PL 42.5 is a very fast, idea portrait focal length lens. The 25mm is close to a Normal FOV and either thr 13 or 15 will give you a nice wild shot.

Other options using native MFT manual lenses are the 10mm, 25 ( or 35mm), and 50mm SLR Hyperprime set, which are all manual lenses, with cine focus gears. Or the Voightlander Norton MFT Primes, 10.5mm, 17.5, 25 and 58mm set, but they are more expensive. Duclos offers a Cine mod version of thr Voights also. Last, yiu can still get the Veydra Mini Primes, while the last, in 12mm, 25, 35, 60 and 85mm, which a,so have focus gears, same size front filter (77/80mm) and are excellent cine type lenses.Cheers

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 8:43 pm

by Denny Smith

Yes, forgot about the 30mm f/3.5 Macro, but that is going to be a mighty slow lens, good outdoors, but not necessarily a good overall “long normal” shooting lens. Cheers

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 4:42 pm

by Denny Smith

Good, that should cover most bases, and get you started. Both are optically good lenses.Cheers

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 5:57 pm

by Denny Smith

The 40-150 on it own is doable, but the longer the lens, the harder it is to hold a steady image. For long lenses like that, you need an oversized, stable tripod, that has enough mass to dampen the setup to get a stable image. I tend to stay with shorter focal lengths, unless you need the reach for something like nature photography.Cheers

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 2:50 am

by Denny Smith

That would be good, start slow, and see what the camera and these lenses will do. You can always do a HD window for a Zoom in Tele effect.Cheers

BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 5:30 am

by rick.lang

It’s true that “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,” but cinema motion picture cameras are quite different than stills photography. Yes there are long lenses used in motion pictures like an Angie 25-250mm Zoom but the total rig likely weighs as much as I do to keep that steady. Of course there are even much longer lenses but all I see are the pictures of the lenses, never the motion video they produce.

On a small camera on a small rig, I’d be wary of going all the way to 140mm. On my URSA Mini I try to stay within 110mm with my Fujinon using the tripod. Optically you’ll get a decent image but it is not at its best when I’ve gone all the way to 150mm. Again no issue with a stills camera with a 1/8000” shutter but motion pictures with a 1/48” shutter are a different animal.

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Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 5:42 pm

by rick.lang

Congratulations Him-ch. Always feels good to make a decision! This year I decided to let my bank account make my decision regarding a zoom for the BMPCC4K. Nyet!

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Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:11 pm

by michaeldhead

I still think it would be more secure as a "T" shape. That way the drive cannot fall out of one side of the holder accidentally.

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:58 pm

by michaeldhead

Him-ch wrote:Michael I think it is tight enough fitting.

Oh, how many times I've said that, and how many times I've been wrong....

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:55 am

by Chris Whitten

Have you factored in stability and ND filters?I have found pure hand held pretty impossible to use with the original Pocket. I expect nothing different from the 4K version.Also, outside I had to be at f16 or f22 on my lenses without ND filters. Again, the same is going to be true of the Pocket 4K. This plays into lens choice, because the different size of each lens dictates a different (and often expensive) ND filter diameter. I tend to only use the same couple of lenses outdoors and bought my self some step up adapters and a set of ND filters for my largest diameter lens.

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:11 pm

by rick.lang

Chris, that’s the prudent approach. I have one set of 4x5.65” rectangular filters when the matte box is required for lenses up to 114mm outside diameter such as the future Tokina 11-20mm T3 and one set of 82mm screw-in filters for the lighter ‘compact’ lenses that are becoming a popular design with a maximum outside diameter of 95mm such as my SLR Magic T2.1 APO primes.

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Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:46 pm

by Chris Whitten

Yes, I think my set is 82mm.Having moved from Australia to the UK....I haven't needed ND so much.

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 3:29 pm

by rick.lang

With British Columbia burning up and the golden hour visible at high noon, you might like to shoot here without ND just to have an orange sun in the photo anytime of the day.

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Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:52 pm

by Denny Smith

No, the PenF will update firmware on Oly lenses. But you are correct, the BM Camera is not going to work.I have a PenF and the Oly 12mm lens, used the PenF to update the lens FW.Cheers

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:42 pm

by Brad Hurley

Sorry to piggyback, but I have a related question, this time for the original Pocket and Micro Cinema Camera, although it's relevant to the BMPCC 4K as well.

The two lenses I've been using to date are the Panasonic 12-35mm zoom and the SLR Magic 10mm cine prime for wide-angle. I've found myself wishing for a bit more reach at times, so am now debating between the SLR Magic 50mm cine prime or the Panasonic-Leica 42.5mm. The Pany-Leica is twice the price, although likely worth it for the image quality. But it's designed more for stills than video.

The Pany-Leica has a stepped aperture ring, but i'm not sure it's actually manual; does it work with the BMPCC? My main hesitations are focus throw and ability to control focus using remotes (e.g. the One Little Remote on the Micro Cinema Camera); I have a follow focus for cine lenses that also has a rubber wheel for focus on DSLR lenses but it's not very reliable.

There's also the Pany 35-100mm zoom, which has the advantage of the same filter size as the 12-35, but I doubt I'd ever go longer than 50mm.

Any thoughts/recommendations?

BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:49 pm

by rick.lang

Between these two lenses, it may boil down to your shooting style. The prime may give you excellent results but at a fixed focal length. The zoom may cost twice as much but gives you a long range that might come in handy. What about a zoom in the 12-60mm range so you have one zoom for almost everything you likely will need for video?

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Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 7:40 pm

by Denny Smith

OK the PL 42.5 is in a class with real Leica and the Zeiss 28mm Hollywood lens. The f/stop ring only works with a Panasonic body like the GH 4/5. On the BN or Oly cameras it is a non functioning decoration. The lens will work with Lanc remote for focus and Iris with the BM Ursa handle on the Micro or the Iris and focus buttons on the Pocket. Focus is faster than your Panny zoom, Iris is set in 1/3 EV steps. The lens is controlled nicely with Phil’s OLR.

The only lens in the lineup with step less Cine iris is the PL 12-60 zoom, which has a fast quiet focus and the zoom is very smooth and focus is parfocal during a zoom.

Cheers

Re: BMPCC 4K - lenses question

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 8:11 pm

by Brad Hurley

Thanks, Rick and Denny!

More to think about...fortunately I'm in no rush and probably won't buy until early next year.